August 01, 2012

GOD'S WILL......

It's been a while since I posted an entry. For some strange reason, I
have been EXTREMELY BUSY lately!!!! Honestly, it's a lot like a zoo in
our house now. I have two little girls (the MOST PRECIOUS little girls
in the WORLD) following me just about every
step I take each day. I get no housework done, because it seems they
mess up whatever I clean up, so what little cleaning time I have is
during their sleeping hours. I figure the housework will wait,
though......just like our boys did, they will grow up
entirely TOO fast.

A week ago today we celebrated the one month anniversary of our GOTCHA
DAY for Callie Beth. OH, how she has changed since that day she was
first placed in to my arms!!!! Sometimes, it's even hard for me to
believe she is the same child. I am posting a picture
of her from GOTCHA DAY, as well as one that I took last Wednesday.

Gotcha Day!

How sweet it is to be loved....

Callie Beth got to meet Shea for the first time last Friday night. Just
as it was with Evan and Keaton, it was almost like an instantaneous
bonding with him. AND, what did Shea have to say about her? He said,
"Well, Mama....we got the prettiest one again
this time, too!!!!" He definitely felt she was a KEEPER!!!!

Callie Beth and Shea

Molly Kate and Shea

Evan, Molly Kate, and Callie Beth

Keaton and Callie Beth

Keaton and Molly Kate

We made our first official SHOPPING TRIP to Paducah with Gran Gran
today. Both of the girls were as good as gold!!! I'm telling you, I
have TWO girly girls who love clothes and bows, and who like to
shop!!!! As I've said before, this I'M SURE is going to
come back to BITE me in the future!!!! It sure is a lot of fun now,
though. They were the center of attention everywhere we went today, but
I've been used to that every since we adopted Molly Kate. Now, it's
just DOUBLE attention!!!!

Callie Beth is adjusting SO well, and it's almost like I can't remember
what our lives were without her. Here are some special things about our
second little sweetie......

Sunday Best

Look at that, Molly Kate!

1. She is a VERY HAPPY girl!!!!---HAPPIER as each day passes!!!! When
she wakes up, she calls my name quite desperately, and sometimes she
fusses before I go and get her out of bed, but once I pick her up, and
she is in my arms, she is HAPPY, AND she ALWAYS
wakes up in the morning OR from her nap in a WONDERFUL mood!!!!

2. She LOVES hugs, and loves to GIVE hugs!!!! Our shy, introverted
daughter number TWO really ISN'T shy and introverted AT ALL!!!! When
she meets a stranger now, she will wave at them, blow a kiss, and give
them the biggest, sweetest smile. She also will
hug anyone we tell her to.

3. She is talking more and more. I have NO CLUE what she is saying
the majority of the time, but SHE knows!!! She is saying several words
in English, including MAMA (at least a THOUSAND times a day!!!), MAMA
SIT, BUBBA, MILK, B.B. (one of our dogs), WOO
WHEE, OH SHOOT (she hears me say this MULTIPLE times daily), and SISSY
(Molly Kate).

4. Her receptive language is picking up quickly. She understands SO
much of what I say to her. We have worked on a little signing for
specific words, but most of the time I don't even have to do the sign
for her to understand.

5. She is getting MORE BEAUTIFUL as each day passes!!!! I think that
may be because she is so filled with happiness, and it just radiates
from her face.

5. EVERYTHING she does, she does with GUSTO!!!!! She is SOOOO full of life!!!!

When I look at Callie Beth's precious face....when I witness her being
SO full of life, and a blessing beyond what words could ever adequately
express, the reality of her past life story hits hard. She was not only
a special needs child, but she was labeled
special focus. That means she was on the waiting child list, which is
THE list of children eligible to be adopted, for TWO FULL MONTHS, with
NO agency asking for her file, or NO ONE showing any interest in viewing
it. CCCWA then sent her file to our adoption
agency, CCAI to be placed on their waiting child list. That's where I
first saw her picture. I don't know how long she had been on the list
when I first saw her. I shared before that there was a LONG waiting
list of people interested in reviewing her file,
once her info was with CCAI. From the time we requested to see it, it
was five weeks before they ever got to our name. This is just a
guesstimate, but I'm thinking there were probably at least 6 to 8
families who saw her file before us, and decided she wasn't
the right child for them. ALL THAT TIME WAITING FOR SOMEONE TO CHOOSE
TO BE HER FOREVER FAMILY-----ALL THAT TIME LIVING IN AN ORPHANAGE,
RATHER THAN A HOME WITH A MAMA AND DADDY AND BROTHERS AND
SISTERS........WHY? Why didn't someone see what WE saw when
we looked at her picture? This may sound really selfish, but I believe
with all my heart and soul that it was because WE were supposed to be
her FOREVER FAMILY----not SOMEONE or ANYONE else. God chose her for us,
and us for her. It all happened the way
it did BECAUSE it was God's will, and it all happened in HIS PERFECT
TIMING!!!!! She is SOOO perfect of a fit for our family, just like
Molly Kate is, and I truly don't think she could have been any more
perfect for us, even had she been our own biological
child!!!!!

We have an appointment on August 14 to take both girls to a pediatric
ophthalmologist. I'm not sure how extensive of a vision problem Callie
Beth's is, but I'm anxious for something to be done to improve her
situation. She really does well, but I think there
are MANY things she is missing out on because of her vision problem. I
don't know if her problems can totally be solved, but I have all the
faith in the world that improvements can be made for her. We also have
an appointment on the same day with a pediatric
gastroenterologist to have her biliary atresia checked. She appears to
be having NO problems with it, though. I can't remember what I've
posted from one time to the next, so if I'm repeating myself, I
apologize---but, we call her scar from her surgery her
SHARK BITE because that's about what it looks like. I'm sure you've
probably been able to see the scar in some of the pictures I've posted.
It breaks my heart to look at it, BUT as horrible as it looks, the
surgeons apparently did a good job with the surgery!!!
We are thankful for each and every day of her good health!!!! PLEASE
pray for her as we await both of these appointments!!!

Callie Beth's SHARK BITE!

I think it's about time to post pictures and retire for the night!!! Until my next post.....

Wow! It is amazing the change that is so visible in these pictures! She really is getting more and more beautiful, and it has to be all the love you guys are pouring into her. I love seeing her and Molly Kate together, too. It *almost* makes me want another one. Almost. :)

You really can see how much she is blossoming, just in photos!! She seems to be doing fantastic! Those two girls of yours are just precious together. I had no idea she had been waiting on the list for that long..she really was meant to be part of your family.